Geotechnical rig systems and methods

ABSTRACT

This invention relates generally to geotechnical rig systems and methods. In one embodiment, a rig for sampling, includes, but is not limited to, a frame configured to deploy a drill string; at least one docking base disposed on the frame; at least one carousel with one or more addressed slots to stow one or more components, the at least one carousel being releasably coupled to the at least one docking base; and at least one arm that is configured to controllably retrieve and/or position the one or more components.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a non-provisional patent application of U.S.provisional patent application 63/052,898 filed Jul. 16, 2020, titledRemotely Operated Unmanned Amphibious Geotechnical Drilling and ConePenetration Testing (CPT) System.

This application claims the benefit of and/or priority to each of theforegoing patent applications and any and all parent, grandparent, andgreat-grandparent applications thereof. The foregoing patentapplications are incorporated by reference in their entirety as if fullyset forth herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This disclosure relates generally to geotechnical rig systems andmethods.

BACKGROUND

Known methods for geotechnical investigation, sampling, or drillinginclude use of direct human to machine interaction on site. The presentdisclosure includes embodiments related to geotechnical rig systems andmethods that overcome at least these deficiencies in the art, includingembodiments that enable a range of geotechnical work to be carried outwithout the need for direct human interaction on site.

SUMMARY

Embodiments disclosed herein relate generally to geotechnical rigsystems and methods. In one embodiment, a rig includes, but is notlimited to, a frame configured to deploy a drill string; at least onedocking base disposed on the frame; at least one carousel with one ormore addressed slots to stow one or more components, the at least onecarousel being releasably coupled to the at least one docking base; andat least one arm that is configured to controllably retrieve and/orposition the one or more components. In another embodiment, a carouselincludes, but is not limited to, one or more addressed slots to stow oneor more components including at least: one or more drill casings, andone or more sample vessels, a funneled base configured to releasablycouple to a docking station of a geotechnical rig; and a lift pointconfigured for maneuvering the carousel. In a further embodiment, avessel system for sampling includes, but is not limited to a vessel; acrane; a rig including at least: a frame, and at least one docking basedisposed on the frame; a plurality of interchangeable carousels eachwith one or more addressed slots to stow one or more components and eachbeing configured to exchangeably couple to the at least one dockingbase; and a shuttle that is configured to controllably retrieve and/orposition the one or more components.

In one embodiment, a rig for cone penetration testing includes, but isnot limited to, a frame; at least one cassette including at least onerotatable reel; at least one sensor; at least one movable roller; atleast one drive system; and at least one tube having at least one conepenetration testing head, the at least one tube configured to be coiledabout the at least one rotatable reel and extendably thrusted using theat least one drive system, wherein the at least one movable roller isconfigured to adjust a bend radius of the at least one tube based atleast partly on data received from the at least one sensor. In a furtherembodiment, a cassette system for cone penetration testing includes, butis not limited to, at least one rotatable reel; at least one sensor; andat least one movable roller, wherein the at least one movable roller isconfigured to adjust a bend radius of at least one tube coiled about theat least one rotatable reel based at least partly on data received fromthe at least one sensor. In another embodiment, a cone penetrationtesting system includes, but is not limited to, a frame; at least onerotatable reel; at least one movable roller; and at least one sensor,wherein the at least one movable roller is configured to adjust a bendradius of at least one tube coiled about the at least one rotatable reelbased at least partly on data received from the at least one sensor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments are described in detail below with reference to thefollowing drawings.

FIG. 1 is an environmental view of a geotechnical rig system deployedfrom a vessel, in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a geotechnical rig system, in accordancewith an embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a side view of a geotechnical rig system, in accordance withan embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a top view of a geotechnical rig system, in accordance with anembodiment;

FIG. 5 is a front view of a geotechnical rig system, in accordance withan embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of a geotechnical rig system, in accordancewith an embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a top view of a geotechnical rig with an interchangeablecarousel system, in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a front view of a geotechnical rig with an interchangeablecarousel system, in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a side view of a geotechnical rig with an interchangeablecarousel system, in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a top view of an interchangeable carousel system, inaccordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an interchangeable carousel system, inaccordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 12 is an exposed view of an interchangeable carousel system, inaccordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a cone penetration rig, in accordancewith an embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a top view of a cone penetration rig, in accordance with anembodiment;

FIG. 15 is a perspective partially exposed view of a cassette reelsystem for a cone penetration rig, in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a cone penetration rig, in accordancewith an embodiment; and

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a vessel with a cone penetration rig,in accordance with an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This disclosure relates generally to geotechnical rig systems andmethods. Certain embodiments are set forth in the following descriptionand in FIGS. 1-17 to provide a thorough understanding of suchembodiments.

FIG. 1 is an environmental view of a geotechnical rig system deployedfrom a vessel, in accordance with an embodiment. A vessel system 100includes, but is not limited to a vessel 102; a crane 104; a rig 106including at least: a frame, and at least one docking base disposed onthe frame; a plurality of interchangeable carousels 108 each with one ormore addressed slots to stow one or more components and each beingconfigured to exchangeably couple to the at least one docking base; andan arm 110 that is configured to controllably retrieve and/or positionthe one or more components.

In one embodiment, the vessel system 100 is used to implement a remotelyoperated rig 106, such as an unmanned amphibious geotechnical drillingand sampling rig for soil investigation and/or sampling, at locationswhere direct human interaction is undesirable or not possible due tologistical or environmental constraints.

In one embodiment, the vessel 102 is a barge, ship, boat, platform,floating rig, and/or other similar surface or subsurface vessel. Thevessel 102 includes at least one crane 104, which is a mechanically,electrically, electromechanically, and/or engine/motor driven device forlifting, moving, lowering, or otherwise maneuvering one or more objects,including the one or more carousels 108, the rig 106, and/or an ROV 112.The rig 106 can be connected to the vessel via an umbilical cord 114 forpower and/or communication.

In one embodiment, the vessel 102 transports the one or more carousels108, the rig 106, and/or the ROV 112 to a desired location in an ocean,sea, lake, or other body of water, whereby the crane 104 deploys the rig106 and/or the ROV 112 into the water. One of the carousels 108 can bedeployed with the rig 106 or separately from the rig 106. The ROV 112assists in the movement and/or positioning of the rig 106 from thevessel 102 to a seafloor, such as by using a guidewire 116 and/or heavecompensation systems. The one or more carousels 108 can be transitionedfrom the vessel 102 to the rig 106 or from the rig 106 to the vessel 102using the ROV 112, the guide wire 116, and/or and the crane 104. The oneor more carousels 108 include one or more tools, sample vessels, and/orone or more drill casings; therefore, the rig 106 can use the resourcesof one carousel 108 on the seafloor for purposes of drilling and/orsampling and the one carousel 108 can be interchanged with one or moreadditional carousels 108 from the vessel 102 to extend the capabilitiesof the rig 106 on the seafloor while operating within load constraintsof the crane 104, the ROV 112, the guide wire 116, heave compensationsystems, and/or the umbilical cord 114, for example. While on the vessel102, the carousels 108 are stackable on a deck, stowage compartment,and/or refrigeration unit, either before or after deployment on the rig106. Any of the foregoing operations can be under complete or partialautonomous control using a computer system, circuitry, and/orprogramming. Alternatively, some or all of the operations can bemanually effectuated or assisted.

In another embodiment, the vessel 102 comprises a vehicle, terrestrialvessel, or subterrestrial vessel, usable on or above land, undergroundor within tunnels, in an underwater environment, on or below a seafloor,and/or on another planet or cosmic body. The vessel 102 is illustratedas a water-based vessel for example purposes only, but the vessel 102can be any device or system usable to deliver or deploy the rig 106and/or one or more carousels 108 to a desired terrestrial and/orsubterrestrial location. In other embodiments, the rig 106 can positionitself in any terrestrial and/or subterrestrial environment independentof the vessel 102. In the embodiment where the vessel 102 comprises aship, the vessel 102 can include a 120 ft work vessel with approximately20 anchors and the crane 104, operating to approximately 2-3 k metersdepth.

In a further embodiment, the rig 106 comprises a geotechnical drillingand/or sampling rig that remotely operates on or below a terrestrial orsubterrestrial surface, such as a seafloor and/or subseafloor. The rig106 can include propulsion systems to facilitate independent movement orpositioning. Alternatively, the rig 106 can be moved or positionedentirely or partly by another system or device, such as the ROV 112. Therig 106 is configured to drill rock, clay, dirt, mud, or the like and/orobtain soil, solid, liquid, gas, and/or combination samples, usinggeotechnical drilling, sampling, and/or wireline techniques. Forinstance, a drill stick is driven into the surface using a combinationof drill bits and casings with samples obtained using sample vessels.Wireline intervention can be utilized to interchange drill bits/toolsand/or extend/retrieve sample vessels.

In certain embodiments, the rig 106 is at least partly enabled using theone or more carousels that are interchangeably coupled to the rig 106,which can be independently deployed to the rig 106 and/or retrieved fromthe rig 106 as needed or required. Thus, the rig 106 can launchindependently of any of the carousels 108 or with one carousel 108initially present. The rig 106 uses tooling, sample vessels, and/orcasings from one of the carousels 108 to initiate, establish, or extenda drill stick and/or obtain a series of depth samples. The rig 106 canreturn sample vessels to the carousel 108, and the carousel 108 can beremoved from the rig 106. The rig 106 can use additional carousels 108to further extend, build, or deploy a drill stick and/or obtainadditional samples, such as to an approximate depth of 75 to 100 metersor more. The extensibility of the rig 106 remotely is therefore providedwhile maintaining a smaller footprint and/or lower weight of the rig 106itself.

In one embodiment, the ROV 112 transports the carousels 108 from thevessel 102 to the rig 106. The ROV 112 attaches to a lift point on thecarousel 108 using assistance from the crane 104 and guides carousel 108to the rig 106. The ROV 112 can be any robot or remote/automatedcontrollable device, such as a LARS. However, it is contemplated thatthe one or more carousels 108 can be self-guided under independentpropulsion to and/or from the rig 106 without requiring use of the ROV112. Alternatively, the crane 104 or guide wire 112 can optionally beused to transport the one or more carousels 108 to and/or from the rig106. In certain embodiments, the ROV 112 is a terrestrial vehicle orsystem that delivers and retrieves the one or more carousels 108 from astaging location and the rig 106. The staging location can include avehicle, platform, container, climate-controlled unit, refrigerationunit, or the like. For instance, the rig 106 can be deployed to a mineor tunnel location and the ROV 112 can run exchanges of the carousels108 from a staging container at or proximate to a mine entrance.

In certain embodiments, the one or more carousels 108 are staged orstored on a deck or surface area of the vessel 102. Optionally, one areaof the deck or surface area of the vessel 102 is used for one or morecarousels 108 ready for deployment to the rig 106 and a different areaof the deck or surface area of the vessel 102 is used for one or morecarousels 108 that have been returned from the rig 106. Theready-for-deployment carousels 108 include casings, vessels, and/ortools for extending a drill string of the rig 106. The returned orconsumed carousels 108 include sample vessels associated with variousdepths, unused casings, and/or or returned tools. The carousels 108 areconfigured to be stackable with one another to conserve staging and/orstorage space. For instance, the carousels 108 can include a flat bottomsurface area that rests upon another of the carousels 108.Alternatively, a male/female mechanical coupling can be provided betweenadjacent carousels 108 to limit or prevent movement or shifting.Additionally, the portion of the carousels 108 can operate inconjunction with one another to define a space for containing a stackedcarousel 108, such as in a pyramid type arrangement as illustrated. Thecarousels 108 may be confined using one or more frames to prevent orlimit movement or shifting.

An optional refrigeration or climate-controlled container 118 is usableon the vessel 102, which container 118 is configured to receive and/orstore one or more carousels 108 containing one or more sample vessels.The carousels 108 are stackable within the container 118 to preserve thesample vessel contents for testing and/or evaluation. The container 118is programmed to maintain a specified temperature and/or humidity levelor range. For instance, the container 118 is configured to maintain asub-zero C temperature range to freeze any sample vessel contents. Thecontainer 118 includes an openable/closable roof or side portion topermit the lowering, sliding, driving, pushing, and removal of thecarousels 108 using the crane 104 or other tug or vehicle device.

The vessel system 100 is exemplary and can be configured in a variety ofways. The crane 104 can be omitted or substituted with another liftingor hoist mechanism. The crane 104 can be movable and/or differentlylocated on the vessel 102. Likewise, it is contemplated that a pluralityof cranes 104 can be utilized for backup redundancy or to increaseefficiency. Multiple rigs 106 and/or ROVs 112 can also be utilized toenable backup redundancy or to increase efficiency, such as by enablingsimultaneous drilling and sample operations at one or more differentsites.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a geotechnical rig system, in accordancewith an embodiment. In one embodiment, a rig 106 includes, but is notlimited to, a frame 202 configured to deploy a drill string; at leastone docking base 204 disposed on the frame 202; at least one carousel108 with one or more addressed slots 206 to stow one or more components,the at least one carousel 108 being releasably coupled to the at leastone docking base 204; and at least one arm 208 that is configured tocontrollably retrieve and/or position the one or more components.

In certain embodiments, the frame 202 is a structure composed of metal,fiberglass, carbon fiber, natural, synthetic, and/or composite material.The frame 202 provides support for the drill string and/or carousel 108and includes at least one support member. The frame 202 can beconfigured as a sphere, cube, pyramid, square, circle, rectangle, orother similar geometric structure. Alternatively, the frame 202 can be aplatform or a deck. In one particular embodiment, the frame 202 includesa mast 210 that extends substantially perpendicularly to support and/orprotect the drill string and/or related components. The mast 210 forms apyramidal, rectangular, cubical, cylindrical, or other similar structurethat is at least partly open and/or exposed for accessing the drillstring, for example. The mast 210 can be fixed or extensible and may beremovable or omitted entirely from the frame 202. In certainembodiments, the frame 202 includes a plurality of masts 210. The frame202 can be extensible or joinable with a plurality of additional frames202 to provide an adjustable size, shape, and/or footprint.Additionally, the frame 202 can include one or more mounting points toattach and/or detach one or more components discussed herein, such asthe mast 210, the docking base 204, the drill string, or the like, whichcan enable flexible customization of the rig 106.

In some embodiments, the rig 106 and frame 202 are configured to restdirectly on a seafloor, ground surface, other terrestrial orsubterrestrial area, or cosmic body. One or more stands or supportmembers are also contemplated, which one or more support members can belength or angularly adjusted for accommodating irregular surfacefeatures and/or leveling the rig 106. The one or more stands or supportmembers can be located in or proximate to one or more corners of theframe 202. Additionally, the one or more stands or support members canbe disposed along one or more edges of the frame 202 or positionedunderneath the frame 202. In one particular embodiment, the rig 106includes a propulsion system 212, such as an electric, gasoline, diesel,hybrid, or other similar engine or motor driven system. The propulsionsystem 212 is configured to enable the rig to be remotely and/orautonomously positioned, repositioned, deployed, recaptured, moved, orthe like. One specific type of the propulsion system 212 includes acontinuous track propulsion system, but one or more metal or rubberwheels or tires are also contemplated. Additionally, the rig 106 mayinclude a passive mobilization system, such as rollers, wheels, ortracks that are not engine or motor actuated. Instead, the rig 106 canbe pulled, pushed, or otherwise manipulated using a tow or tug device,such as an ROV, vehicle, ship, stationary rig, and/or other system ordevice. The passive mobilization system can be engaged and/or disengagedusing mechanical, electromechanical, or electrical systems to switchbetween mobile and immobile fixed modes.

In one embodiment, the rig 106 includes an umbilical cord 114 for remotepower, communication, control, data, and/or physical tethering. Forinstance, the rig 106 can be connected to the vessel 102 via umbilicalcord 114. The umbilical cord 114 in this context is retractably deployedas the rig 106 is lowered to the seafloor, for example. However, it isconceived that the umbilical cord 114 can be functionally altered and/oromitted. For example, the umbilical cord 114 may provide tetheringfunctions whilst communication is handled wirelessly. Alternatively,power may be provided to the rig 106 via an onboard or nearby batterywhilst the communication and tethering is handled via the umbilical cord114. The rig 106 may be independent of any umbilical cord 114.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a geotechnical rig system, in accordance withan embodiment. In one embodiment, a rig 106 includes, but is not limitedto, a frame 202 configured to deploy a drill string; at least onedocking base 204 disposed on the frame 202; at least one carousel 108with one or more addressed slots 206 to stow one or more components, theat least one carousel 108 being releasably coupled to the at least onedocking base 204; and at least one arm 208 that is configured tocontrollably retrieve and/or position the one or more components.

In one embodiment, the rig 106 is configured to deploy a drill string302, which is composed of one or more segment casings 308 and/or a drillhead 306. The rig 106 includes a rotational drive system 304 to forciblythrust, rotate, and/or retract the drill string 302 and/or drill head306 to enable drilling and/or sampling in a seafloor, sub seafloor,terrestrial surface, terrestrial subsurface, or other cosmic body,thereby allowing for sample collection in nearly any hard or soft groundformation, such as ultra-soft silts, soil, rock, clay, mud, or the like.Sampling can be accomplished via the drill string 302 using traditionalwireline intervention methods using any of the following devices: pushsample, piston sample, core barrel, tube sample, vented tube, Shelbytube, and/or non-coring assembly cap. In addition to physical samplingthe rig 106 can deploy a range of data collection tools such as CPT,5-15 cm² Cones, Ball Cone, T-bar, Pizo Probe, Gama, seismic, and thelike. As such, the rig 106 provides up to a full spectrum of down holetooling, drilling, and/or sampling with wireline intervention and/orstick drilling methods.

In certain embodiments, the drill string 302 is approximately 2 metersto 150 meters in length, but may be longer, shorter, and/or extensible.The drill string 302 is composed of a plurality of the segment casings308 with each segment casing screwing via threads into an adjoiningcasing to enable an increase or decrease of an overall length of thedrill string 302. In many embodiments, approximately 30 casings to 60casings are included in a single drill string 302. Each segment casing308 is approximately 1 m to 3 m in length, such as 2 m, but otherlengths are possible. The casings 308 are typically formed from metal,such as metal piping, and the drill string 302 is hollow due to thesegment casings 308 being hollow, but solid and/or semi-solid portionsof the drill string 302 are within the scope of the disclosure. Thediameter of the drill string is typically approximately between 2 inchesand 8 inches, such as between 2 inches and 4 inches, but other diametersare within the scope of the present disclosure.

In one embodiment, the drill head 306 is disposed on a leading portionof the drill string 302 and is configured to support and/or incorporatea drill bit and/or non-coring assembly cap. The drill bit can includediamond and/or sawtooth type bits, or other bits, and can beinterchanged, installed, or removed via known techniques such aswireline intervention. The drill bit can be approximately 2 inches to 8inches in length, such as 5 to 6 inches in length, but other sizes arewithin the scope of the present disclosure.

In one embodiment, the arm 208 is configured to facilitate operationsinvolving the carousel 108 and the drill string 302. The arm 208 can bemovable, extensible, rotatable, retractable, or otherwise fixed ormovable. In certain embodiments, the arm 208 includes a shuttle head 310that travels along or with the arm 208, such as along or with a seriesof extensions, a beam, channel, or other member. The shuttle 310 headcan be movable, extensible, retractable, rotatable and/or can include afriction, fingers, claps, or pressure grip mechanism to releasablypickup one or more components. In certain embodiments, the carousel 108is configured with one or more indexed slots to store and receive any oftooling, sample vessels, or segment casings 308. The carousel 108rotates to expose any of the one or more indexed slots to the arm 208and/or shuttle head 310. The carousel 108, the arm 208, and/or shuttlehead 310 operate under automated and/or remotely controlled instructionswithout requiring manual direct in-person intervention, to performoperations including installation and removal of segment casings 308from the drill string 302, deployment and withdrawal of sample vessels,and/or installation or removal of tooling. For instance, the shuttlehead 310 can extend to a programmed or user-defined position and drop orcatch a component from the carousel 108. The shuttle head 310 can thenreturn to a position over the drill string 302. The shuttle head 310 candrop or install the component into or on the drill string 302. Otheroperations and techniques are further described herein.

FIG. 4 is a top view of a geotechnical rig system, in accordance with anembodiment. In one embodiment, a rig 106 includes, but is not limitedto, a frame 202 configured to deploy a drill string 302; at least onedocking base 204 disposed on the frame 202; at least one carousel 108with one or more addressed slots 206 to stow one or more components, theat least one carousel 108 being releasably coupled to the at least onedocking base 204; and at least one arm 208 that is configured tocontrollably retrieve and/or position the one or more components.

In one embodiment, the carousel 108 includes a plurality of addressed orindexed slots 206. The slots 206 are cavities, tubes, boxes,depressions, boundaries, containers, and/or other spaces for presentingand/or storing one or more components at one or more known positions.Each of the slots 206 are addressed, indexed, plotted, marked, orotherwise identifiable. For instance, the slots 206 may each beidentified by a Cartesian coordinate to its center relative to astarting or relative point. Alternatively, each slot may be identifiedby a number of stepper or other motor increments from a starting orrelative point. Because the carousel 108 rotates in certain embodimentsrelative to the docking base 204, another option is for each slot to beidentified by a rotational degree or increment plus a radius distancefrom center or equivalent. Whichever addressing or identification schemeis selected, the slots 206 are in some embodiments identifiable toenable access to and/or depositing of components therein. Thus, theaddressing or identification of the slots 206 include two and/or threedimensions with rotation as an optional fourth dimension.

In other embodiments, each of the carousels 108 can be identical,individualized, or identifiable by group or category, with differentarrangement, positioning, sizes, or orientations of the slots 206. Inthe case of individualized or group/category type carousels 108, amarking, RFID-type tag, beacon, or other indicia can be used to identifythe type and/or determine the appropriate addressing or identificationsystem for the particular carousel 108. A camera, beacon scanner,barcode reader, or other sensor is configured to read the indicia and aprocessor uses the data retrieved to match up with the carousel type todetermine the matching schema for addressing or identification.

In one particular embodiment, the carousel 108 can be indexed or keyedto the docking base 204 to establish the slots 206 in the addressing oridentification system. In one particular embodiment, the carousel 108includes a calibration point to establish, confirm, or adjust thestarting position or relative position for the addressing oridentification system.

In further embodiments, the carousel 108 is configured to rotate about acenter axis to turn relative to the docking base 204 and/or the frame202 of the rig 106. The arm 208 includes the shuttle head 310 thattraverses between the drill string 302 along a path toward a center ofthe carousel 108. The carousel 108 rotates relative to the arm 208and/or the shuttle head 310 enabling access by the shuttle head 310 tothe slots 206. Alternatively, the arm 208 can include a robotic arm thatmoves in two and/or three dimensions with a pickup head that can reachone or more of the slots 206. In this embodiment, the carousel 108 maybe fixed, rotatable, or partially movable as the robotic arm can provideadditional range of movement and access. The arm 208 is depicted asmounted and extends from the frame 202, but it is also contemplated thatthe arm 208 can be mounted to the carousel 108 and extend toward thedrill string 302. In this particular embodiment, the arm 208 can rotatefrom a center or edge position of the carousel 108 and traverse radiallyto the one or more slots 206.

In various embodiments, the components presented, maintained, or stowedin the slots 206 can include any one or more of drill casings segments,sample vessels, drill bits, and/or tools that are usable for drilling,sampling, or otherwise investigating formations or material. Each of theslots 206 can include a single component or a plurality of components.Also, each of the slots 206 can be dedicated to particular component orthe contents of the slots 206 can change during the course of operationof the rig 106 during a particular mission, such as when stick drillingadvances and samples are obtained. The arrangement of the slots 206 caninclude a radial pattern of concentric circles, a grid, one or morerows, or another regular or irregular pattern. Additionally, the slots206 can be differently positioned and/or accessible, such as vertically,horizontally, obliquely from a top, bottom, inside, and/or side of thecarousel 108.

In operation, for example, the carousel 108 has slots 206 that areloaded with casings, sample tubes, drill heads, drill bits, caps,vessels, tools, and/or components. The carousel 108 is then lowered ontothe docking base 204. The shuttle head 310 moves to computer addressesassociated with the slots 206 with the carousel 108 rotating tofacilitate access to the slots 206. The shuttle head 310 picks up one ormore components and retrieves such for installation or deployment to orwithin the drill string 302. Likewise, the shuttle head 310 returns oneor more components, such as material samples at different known depths,back to the carousel 108 into one or more addressed slots 206. Thecarousel 108 rotates therewith to receive the returned components intoparticular slots 206. The consumed carousel 108 with any returnedcomponents, such as sample tubes, is then removed from the docking base204 and returned for restocking and/or further processing. Computermemory or data transmissions are maintained or made to record provenancedata for the one or more slots 206, including, for example, contentidentification, date and time stamp, depth of any associated samplevessel or tube, temperature or climate information, pressure relief orventing actions taken, or other useful information for futureinvestigation and/or analysis.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a geotechnical rig system, in accordance withan embodiment. In one embodiment, a rig 106 includes, but is not limitedto, a frame 202 configured to deploy a drill string 302; at least onedocking base 204 disposed on the frame 202; at least one carousel 108with one or more addressed slots to stow one or more components, the atleast one carousel 108 being releasably coupled to the at least onedocking base 204; and at least one arm 208 that is configured tocontrollably retrieve and/or position the one or more components.

In certain embodiments, the at least one arm 208 is configured to attachand/or remove one or more drill casings on the drill string 302. Thedrill string 302 includes a drill head and a drill stick that iscomposed at least in part from the one or more drill casings. The drillstring 302 can extend anywhere from approximately 1 meter toapproximately 150 meters or more into a terrestrial, subterrestrial, orcosmic body or subsurface from the rig 106. The rotational drive 304 isconfigured to apply torque to the drill string 302 to facilitatethrusting and/or retraction of the drill string 302 into the surface orsubsurface. In one particular embodiment, the drill string 302 is fullyor partly buildable and/or extensible by the rig 106; likewise, thedrill string 302 is fully or partly deconstructable and/or reducible bythe rig 106. This modularity is accomplished at least in part by thecasings being removably coupled or joined to adjoining drill casings,with the lead casing being coupled or joined to the drill head. Matingthreads are used to screwably join the drill casings and the drill headalthough a different fastening mechanism is within scope of the presentdisclosure. A supply of casings is provided by the carousel 108 usingthe arm 208 and/or the shuttle head 310 to install the casings on thedrill string 302. Likewise, when deconstructed, the casings areremovable from the drill string 302 and deposited to the carousel 108.Because the carousel is removable, refillable, exchangeable, and/orinterchangeable, an overall length of the drill string 302 is notsubstantially limited except by other constraints, such as motor ordrive torque. In operation, the shuttle head 310 extends to the carousel108 to retrieve a casing and returns the casing to an end of the drillstring 302. The shuttle head 310 can rotate and/or the rotational drive304 can rotate to facilitate installation of the casing onto the drillstring. A reverse sequence of operations is implemented to break downand/or deconstruct the drill string 302. For instance, the shuttle head310 can secure to an end of the drill string and rotate, or therotational drive 304 can rotate, to back off a casing from an end of thedrill string 302. The shuttle head 310 can return the casing to thecarousel 108.

In a further embodiment, the at least one arm 208 is further configuredto extend or retrieve one or more sample vessels via the drill string302. The drill string 302 is at least partly hollow when constructed toenable deployment of sample vessels to the drill head and retrievedtherefrom for sample collection at particular depths. The sample vesselscan include tubes or other containers and can be lowered and/orretrieved using typical wireline intervention techniques, with checkvalves or vents provided as needed. In addition to physical sampling,the rig 106 can deploy a range of data collection tools such as CPT,5-15 cm² Cones, Ball Cone, T-bar, Pizo Probe, Gama, seismic, and thelike to provide up to a full spectrum of down hole tooling, drilling,and/or sampling. A particular sample vessel can be served empty by thecarousel 108 with the shuttle head 310 extending via the arm 208 topick-up the sample vessel from one or more slots. The sample vessel canthen be deployed whereby the shuttle head 310 positions the samplevessel for release through the drill string 302. A filled sample vesselcan be similarly returned from the drill string 302 to the carousel 108using the shuttle head 310. The sample vessels can be stored in aconfigured and/or programmed arrangement to facilitate identification ofan order and/or a depth associated with a sample contained within thesample vessel. Because the carousel is exchangeable, interchangeable,and/or retrievable before, during, or after operation of the rig 106,the sample vessels can be collected to enable more detailedinvestigation and/or analysis. A stocked carousel 108 with filledvessels can be removed from the docking base 204 and replaced with a newcarousel 108 having empty sample vessels to continue the sample processas the drill string 302 progresses.

In certain embodiments, the sample vessels and the casings areconfigured to share a single slot in the carousel 108 to conserve space.For instance, the sample vessel is positioned inside the casing withinone slot to enable the casing or the sample vessel to be removed and/orreturned independently. In operation, the casing is retrieved by theshuttle head 310 and installed on the drill string 302. Subsequently,the sample vessel from the same slot is retrieved by the shuttle head310 and deployed via the drill string 302 for sample collection. Thesample vessel with content from a particular drill depth can be returnedto the carousel 108 and positioned in the same slot. This orderedsequence of operations is repeated as required.

In other embodiments, one or more tools can occupy one or more slots ofthe carousel 108 or can be positioned elsewhere on the rig 106. Theshuttle head 310 extends via the arm 208 to capture a particular tooland introduce the tool to the drill string, whereby it can be loweredfor use, installation, or operation as required, such as using wirelineintervention techniques. The shuttle head 310 can return the tool to thecarousel 108 or other position on the rig 106. The replaceability and/orexchangeability of the carousel 108 enables introduction of tooling tothe rig 106 while the rig 106 is remotely situated and/or in operation.

No direct human or in-person presence is required on the rig 106 toexchange a carousel 108, extend or reduce the drill string 302, deployor retrieve sample vessels, and/or implement or install tooling. The rig106, shuttle head 310, arm 208, carousel 108, rotational drive 304, andother referenced components can operate automatically or under remotecontrol or using program instructions, computer circuitry, storagememory, and/or a network or a wireless interface. Operation of the rig106, shuttle head 310, arm 208, carousel 108, rotational drive 304, andother referenced components can be recorded, stored, and/or transmittedfor remote real-time or delayed analysis using the computer circuitry,storage memory, and/or network or a wireless interface.

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of a geotechnical rig system, in accordancewith an embodiment. In one embodiment, a rig 106 includes, but is notlimited to, a frame 202 configured to deploy a drill string 302; atleast one docking base 204 disposed on the frame 202; at least onecarousel 108 with one or more addressed slots 206 to stow one or morecomponents, the at least one carousel 108 being releasably coupled tothe at least one docking base 204; and at least one arm 208 that isconfigured to controllably retrieve and/or position the one or morecomponents.

In one embodiment, the frame 202 is configured to be stationary withouta propulsion system. The frame 202 includes one or more frame liftpoints 604 that are usable to lower, lift, set, reposition, and/or movethe rig 106 using a crane, hoist, ROV, or other external load supportingsystem, device, vessel, or vehicle. The frame 202 can be deposited onanother platform, vehicle, or vessel to enable mobility. Alternatively,the frame 202 can be positioned directly on a terrestrial,subterrestrial, or cosmic body impendent of any vehicle or vessel. Incertain embodiments, the frame 202 includes legs or supports, which canbe pivotable, angled, or adjustable to accommodate irregular featuresand/or assist in leveling the rig 106. The frame 202 is usable inconjunction with one or more anchors to prevent and/or limit movement orshifting of the rig 106.

In one particular embodiment, the frame 202 includes the docking base204 which is configured in a conical and/or funnel shape to removablyreceive the carousel 108. The carousel 108 is removable and/orpositionable on the docking base 204 using an alignment mechanism toinitialize the carousel to a correct rotational orientation relative tothe docking base 204. The alignment mechanism can include a key,male/female interconnection, ball sockets, a magnetic system, and/orcalibration markings or indicia. The carousel 108 snaps, locks, orlatches automatically when lowered onto the docking base 204, such aswhen in the correct alignment. The carousel 108 can be removed from thedocking base 204 using wireline intervention or anotherelectromechanical or mechanical release system. Other forms of thedocking base 204 are contemplated and within the scope of the presentdisclosure. These include a rotational platform, threaded platform, apost and/or socket, a suspension arm or coupling, one or more wheels orbearings, or another mechanism that facilitates removable positioning ofthe carousel 108 onto the frame 202.

In some embodiments, the carousel lift point 602 is configured as ahook, eyelet, ring, slot, or other point to attach a load supportdevice, system, line, or object for lifting, lowering, maneuvering,twisting, or otherwise manipulating the carousel 108 independent of therig 106. The lift point 602 can be positioned on a bale or otherextension projecting from a medial or center area of the carousel 108.Alternatively or additionally, the carousel 108 can include one or moreperimeter, edge, side, or bottom mounting points. The lift points 602can include a cable, line, rope, or other flexible extension.Maneuvering points, lines, and cables are also within the scope of thepresent disclosure. The rig 106 can be lowered and installed with lessweight and/or load, with or without an initial carousel 108 present.Subsequently, during operation of the rig 106, a sequence of carousels108 are separately or independently lowered for staging or immediateinstallation on the docking base 204. The components of the carousel 108are consumed and/or used by the rig 106 as needed. Thereafter, consumedor refilled carousels 108 can be separately retrieved and removed fromthe docking base 204 and replaced with new and/or replenished carousels108.

In further embodiments, the docking base 204 is configured to rotate ina clockwise and/or counterclockwise manner using an electric, hydraulic,gasoline, diesel, electromagnetic, or other type of system, motor, orengine. The docking base 204 can optionally shift, project, rescind, orotherwise move in one or more various other dimensions. A computerprocessor, circuitry, computer program instructions, storage memory,communication or network interface, and/or other electronic componentsare used to implement, select, and/or execute specific movements and/orrotations of the docking base 204 to effectuate positioning of thecarousel 108. Optionally, the carousel 108 can be configured to rotatein a clockwise and/or counterclockwise manner using an electric,hydraulic, gasoline, diesel, electromagnetic, or other type of system,motor, or engine that is incorporated within the carousel 108. In thisembodiment, a computer processor, circuitry, computer programinstructions, storage memory, communication or network interface, and/orother electronic components are used to implement, select, and/orexecute specific movements and/or rotations of the carousel 108 relativeto the docking base 204 to effectuate positioning of the carousel 108.

FIGS. 7-9 are top, front, and side views respectively of a geotechnicalrig with an interchangeable carousel system, in accordance with anembodiment. In one embodiment, a rig 106 includes, but is not limitedto, a frame 202 configured to deploy a drill string 302; at least onedocking base 204 disposed on the frame 202; at least one carousel 108with one or more addressed slots 206 to stow one or more components, theat least one carousel 108 being releasably coupled to the at least onedocking base 204; and at least one arm 208 that is configured tocontrollably retrieve and/or position the one or more components.

In certain embodiments, a process or system for carousel exchange isprovided. To begin, the rig 106 is positioned at a remote terrestrial orsubterrestrial site without a carousel 108; although an initial carouselmay be installed with the rig 106. One or more operators is not requiredto physically man the rig 106 and can remain offsite from the rig 106,such as on a remote vehicle, vessel, or at another location. One or morecarousels 108 are similarly maintained offsite from the rig 106 andtransitioned to the site of the rig 106 for loading via the docking base204 using an unmanned vehicle such as an ROV. The carousels 108 providetooling, sample vessels, casings, drill bits, or other components thatare usable by the rig 106. The arm 208 and/or shuttle head 310 operatebetween a carousel 108 and the drill string 302 to extend and/orcollapse the drill string 302; remove, deploy, and/or exchange toolingfrom the drill string 302; deploy and/or retrieve sample vessels fromthe drill string 302; install and/or activate sensors or devices withthe drill string 302; or perform other operation as described herein.Subsequently, a consumed or used carousel 108 is removed from the rig106 and optionally replaced by another carousel 108 to restock the rig106. The rig 106 can continue at the remote site to perform sampling,investigation, drilling, and/or other geotechnical operations whilecontinually being replenished and/or restocked with one or a series ofcarousels 108. A consumed or used carousel 108 that is removed from therig 106 can be transitioned offsite from the rig 106, such as back to aremote vehicle, vessel, or other locale, whereby the carousel 108 can bestored, such as in a climate controlled container, used for scientificor research purposes, restocked, repaired, and/or used for othertechnical operations.

In some embodiments, the drill string 302 is partially established withone or more initial casings 308 and a drill head 306 that extend via therotational drive 304. The shuttle head 310 is then able to extend thedrill string 302 using one or more casings 308 picked up from thecarousel 108, such as by screwing a new casing 308 onto an establishedcasing 308 with the rotational drive 304 advancing the drill string 302.

In further embodiments, the carousel 108 is lowered, raised,transitioned, and/or retrieved using support from an external vehicle orvessel, such as a crane, guide wire, or unmanned vehicle. Alternatively,the carousel 108 can include a propulsion system such as wheels,continuous track wheels, jets, releasable ballasts or weights, oranother motorized system. The carousel 108 can guide itself to and/orfrom the rig 106 using computer programmed autonomous instructions orremote control operations.

In additional embodiments, the rig 106 includes a plurality of dockingbases 204 and is configured to include a plurality of carousels 108mounted on the rig 106 at any given time. The docking bases 204 canoperate on a turntable to rotate different carousels 108 into activeposition with each carousel being rotatable relative to a traversingshuttle head 310.

In yet a further embodiment, the carousel 108 can be differently mountedrelative to the rig 106. For instance, the carousel 108 can bepositioned on its side and rolled to expose different slots to theshuttle head 310. Alternatively, the carousel 108 can be fixed and thearm 208 can be a robotic arm with additional range of movements to pickup components from virtually any fixed location on the carousel 108. Thecarousel 108 can optionally include one or more inner compartments or astacked set of carousels 108 with the inner compartments that areexposable to provide access to additional slots and/or components.

In another embodiment, a sleeve composed of a plurality of stacked orotherwise joined carousels 108 can be utilized during migration ortransitioning to and/or from a site of the rig 106. The sleeve is placedproximate to the rig 106 to stage the carousels 108. Individualcarousels 108 can be moved from the sleeve to the rig 106 for use.Subsequently, a set of consumed carousels 108 can be returned orretrieved from the site of the rig 106 as a sleeve.

In yet another embodiment, the carousel 108 is not required to dock onthe rig 106 and instead floats, rests, hangs, or is otherwise disposednearby the rig 106. The arm 208 can retrieve and/or return one or morecomponents from the carousel 108. In one particular embodiment, thecarousel includes a vacuum, pressure tube, and/or guide system thatdrops, feeds, returns, or otherwise exchanges vessels, casings, and/ortooling to the drill string 302 without requiring an arm 208 or shuttlehead 310.

In alternative embodiments, the shuttle head 310 uses one or more fingergrips, an electromagnetic pickup, suction, pressure, a hook, a balljoint, a mating flange, projection, recess, compression, friction,and/or other mechanical, electrical, or electromechanical enabledinterface to pick up and/or drop one or more components to/from thecarousel 108 or to/from the drill stick.

In various embodiments, certain technological advantages are yielded. Tobegin, a rig 106 can be deployed with reduced weight and/or inventoryitems, which can be an advantage in seafloor or cosmic bodyinvestigation where weight considerations are important. A series ofcarousels 108 are used to removably deliver required components inparallel, series, and/or sequentially to provide extensibility to therig 106. Further, the rig 106 can extend to investigation depths thatare deeper with a virtually limitless extensibility of a drill string302, bound by external constraints such as motor torque. Additionally,the carousel content selection can be adjusted based on needs andrequirements for a mission and can be changed or modified in an event ofan unexpected circumstance. Also, the sample vessels are used to performscientific analysis and the contents can require timely climate controlfor preservation. An entire carousel loaded with sample vessels can beretrieved from the rig 106 and quickly moved or stacked with anothercarousel inside a climate controlled container. Many other advantagesare apparent in various disclosed embodiments.

FIGS. 10 and 11 are top and perspective views of an interchangeablecarousel system, in accordance with an embodiment. In one embodiment, acarousel 108 for a geotechnical rig includes, but is not limited to, oneor more addressed slots 206 to stow one or more components including atleast: one or more drill casings 308, and one or more sample vessels, afunneled base configured to releasably couple to a docking station of ageotechnical rig; and a lift point 602 configured for maneuvering thecarousel 108.

In one embodiment, the carousel 108 is substantially cylindrical with acentral core 1002 surrounded by slots 206. The central core isapproximately ⅕ to 2 meters in diameter and the slots 206 extend to arange of approximately ⅕ to 2 meters beyond the central core 1002. Thecarousel is approximately ⅕ to 3 meters in height. The slots 206 arerigid tubes or pipes that are approximately 2 to 6 inches in diameterand approximately 1 to 3 meters in length, such as metal tubes that areapproximately 4 inches in diameter and 2 meters in length. The slots 206are disposed in a concentric circular pattern peripheral to the innercore 1002 with approximately 1 to 5 radials of the slots 206. Many othersizes and dimensions of the carousel 108, central core 1102, or slots206 are possible. The slots 206 can be loosely disposed within thecarousel 108 and/or welded or otherwise fixedly bonded or joined toadjacent slots 206. One or more fasteners 1102 reinforce and/or retainthe slots 206 from a perimeter of the carousel 108, which may include asurface with apertures for the slots 206. The slots 206 are eachassociated with an address, position, coordinate, or other location thatis usable for selectable pickup by the rig 106 of a component therein.The slots 206 are sized and/or shaped to stow any one or more of: drillhead, drill bit, diamond bit, saw tooth bit, drill stick casing 302,sample vessel, push sample, piston sample, core barrel, tube sample,vented tube, Shelby tube, non-coring assembly cap, or other tool,component, sensor, or device. The central core 1002 is constructed ofmetal, wood, composite, and/or other durable material to maintain theslots 206 in position, serve as a docking receptacle to the docking base204, and/or anchor the lift point 602 for maneuvering the carousel 108.The docking receptacle is further disclosed and illustrated in FIG. 12.The lift point 602 is an eyelet, ring, hook, fastener, or otherconnection point that projects vertically approximately ⅕ to 3 meters toconnect to a crane, ROV, guide line, or other lift device or system.

In various embodiments, the carousel 108 is cubical, rectangular,spherical, triangular, or defined by another regular or irregular shape.The carousel 108 can include a cavity center. Alternatively, thecarousel 108 can include a plurality of radial arms. The shape and/orsize of the carousel 108 is modifiable to suit the needs of a particularmission, rig, and/or function.

In certain embodiments, the central core 1002 is omitted and/or assumesa reduced or different profile. The central core 1002 can include aconical top that projects further to the lift point 602. Alternatively,the central core 1002 can include a substantially planar top thatincludes the lift point 602 directly thereon. The central core 1002 canbe reduced to a dimension that supports or defines the lift point 602.Additionally, the central core 1002 can be recessed or moved to aperipheral edge of the carousel 108. In a further embodiment, the liftpoint 602 can retractably extend or removably attach to the carousel108, such as to permit sleeving or stacking of the carousel 108.

In certain embodiments, the slots 206 are impressions, projections,cases, boxes, edges, or other areas to stow, deploy, receive, orotherwise provide access to the components. In certain embodiments, theslots 206 include a cap, lid, or surface that insulates, waterproofs, orotherwise protects or separates the components. The slots 206 can berearrangeable, reconfigurable, or otherwise movable. The slots 206 areuniform in one embodiment, but in other embodiments, the slots 206 canbe non-uniform with different dimensions or shapes to accommodatedifferent components. In one particular embodiment, a slot 206 isconfigured to jointly stow a casing 308 and a sample vessel in a singleslot 206. The slots 206 can provide access to components via a side, atop, or a bottom of the slot 206.

In one particular embodiment, the carousel 108 includes an enclosedperimeter, such as a frame and/or wall. Alternatively, the slots 206form a perimeter edge of the carousel 108. Another configurationincludes a base of the carousel 108 with a flange, lip, edge, wall,projection, or other member that extends upwards to retain or separatethe slots 206. Additionally, the top surface of the carousel 108 can beopen as depicted or partially enclosed with one or more apertures oropenings for the slots 206.

FIG. 12 is an exposed view of an interchangeable carousel system, inaccordance with an embodiment. In one embodiment, a carousel 108 for ageotechnical rig includes, but is not limited to, one or more addressedslots 206 to stow one or more components including at least: one or moredrill casings 308, and one or more sample vessels, a funneled baseconfigured to releasably couple to a docking station of a geotechnicalrig; and a lift point 602 configured for maneuvering the carousel 108.

In one embodiment, the funneled base 1204 of the carousel 108 defines aconcavity, recess, or other mating surface for the docking base 204 ofthe rig 106. The concavity of the funneled base 1204 operates to guidenon-precision placement of the carousel 108 into alignment with thedocking base 204 as the carousel 108 is lowered to and/or approachingthe rig 106. The funneled base 1204 releasably connects with the dockingbase 204 in a particular rotational orientation to index the slots 206,such as using a ball and socket latching mechanism 1202 that is keyed toa particular alignment. The ball and socket latching mechanism 1202engages to releasably lock the carousel 108 to the docking base 204 ofthe rig 106. Wireline intervention is used to release the ball andsocket latching mechanism 1202 to separate the carousel 108 from thedocking base 204.

In certain embodiments, funneled base 1204 includes one or moreprojections to mate with one or more recesses in the docking base 204.Alternatively, the funneled base 1204 defines a projection instead of arecess and the docking base 204 defines a recess instead of aprojection. The funneled base 1204 can include a uniformly decreasingconcavity diameter or one or more angular reductions in concavitydiameter. The slope of the decreasing concavity diameter of the funneledbase 1204 can vary or remain substantially constant. In someembodiments, the funneled base 1204 is characterized by an initial slopethat transitions to a cubical, cylindrical, rectangular, or othergeometrical recess.

In certain embodiments, the ball and socket mechanism 1202 issubstituted or complemented with one or more other types of releasableconnections. For instance, a latching mechanism, electromagneticcoupling, spring pin, or other connector is usable. The ball and socketmechanism 1202, or other releasable connection, can be released usingwireline intervention techniques or using an electromagnetic,electromechanical, mechanical release that is computer operated.

In one particular embodiment, the funneled base 1204 substantiallyself-aligns with the docking base 204 using one or more mechanicalalignment indents, detents, projections, recesses, grooves, threads, orother guides in either or both of the funneled base 1204 or the dockingbase 204. In certain embodiments, the carousel 108 or the docking base204 rotates during installation of the carousel 108 to facilitatealignment engagement. In other embodiments, one or more magnets orelectromagnets are incorporated in the funneled base 1204 and/or thedocking base 204 to attract or repel to facilitate alignment engagement.As the carousel 108 approaches the docking base 204, the carousel 108rotates under the magnetic force to line up the carousel 108 with thedocking base 204 for matching engagement.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a cone penetration rig, in accordancewith an embodiment. In one embodiment, a rig for cone penetrationtesting 1300 includes, but is not limited to, a frame 1302; at least onecassette 1304 including at least one rotatable reel 1306; at least onesensor 1308; at least one movable roller 1310; at least one drive system1312; and at least one tube (FIG. 14 & FIG. 15) having at least one conepenetration testing head, the at least one tube configured to be coiledabout the at least one rotatable reel 1306 and extendably thrusted usingthe at least one drive system 1312, wherein the at least one movableroller 1310 is configured to adjust a bend radius of the at least onetube based at least partly on data received from the at least one sensor1308.

In one embodiment, the rig 1300 is configured to perform conepenetration testing (CPT) to identify subsurface conditions in the upperapproximately 100 feet of the subsurface. The rig 1300 pushes a tubehaving a tube sleeve and a cone (FIG. 14 & FIG. 15) into the ground.Cone penetrometer sensors disposed on the tube sleeve and/or cone areused to measure tip resistance, or the force required to push the tip ofthe cone, and to measure sleeve friction, or the force required to pushthe sleeve through the soil. A friction ratio is obtained between thesleeve friction and tip resistance, often measured as a percentage. Soiltype, lithography, and/or resistance to liquefication can be inferredfrom these measurements. For example, the following types of soil havespecific friction ratios and tip resistance profiles: sandy fill, clay,bay mud, loose sand, dense sand, or other subsurface material.Additionally, when the cone includes a seismometer, the cone can also beused to predict how local shallow soil conditions can modify shaking.The capacity of local soil conditions to modify shaking is inverselyproportional to the velocity of seismic waves near the surface, whichcan be computed with data recorded with the seismometer. Seismic energyis created manually, such as with an air driven hammer. The time that ittakes for the seismic energy to travel from the surface through theground to the seismometer on the cone is then used to determine thedistance to the seismometer. This calculation can be used to determinethe average shear-wave velocity.

In certain embodiments, the rig 1300 is a terrestrial, subterrestrial,amphibious, or cosmic rig usable at a remote site such as on terrain orunderwater, separated by a physical distance from a human operator. Therig 1300 can be deployed at and/or retrieved from a remote site using anonboard propulsion system and/or using assistance from an ROV, crane,guide wire, vehicle, robot, tug, tow line, or other device. Theumbilical cord 1316 is configured to provide power, communication, data,and/or commands to the rig 1300. Alternatively, the rig 1300 operates inan autonomous and/or semi-autonomous mode using one or more programinstructions that execute one or more operations using onboard computercircuitry. Wireless communication may optionally be used to communicatewith, receive sensor data, and/or send commands to the rig 1300. The rig1300 performs CPT functions, including using the drive 1312 to thrustthe tube, cone head, and/or sleeve into the subsurface by extendablyuncoiling the tube from the reel 1306 of the cassette 1304. Uponcompletion at one site, the rig 1300 retractably coils the tube into thereel 1306 of the cassette 1304. The rig 1300 can be repositioned toanother proximate or distant site for further CPT testing, includingrepeating at least some of the foregoing operations. In certainembodiments, the rig 1300 can be manned or accessed by one or more humanoperators.

In certain embodiments, the tube is constructed of steel, metal, orother alloy. As the tube is uncoiled and recoiled during operation ofthe rig 1300 for CPT testing, the tube bend radius increases orotherwise changes between each cycle due to hardening of the material ofthe tube or other factors. The bend radius change in the tube renderscoiling of the tube about the reel 1306 within the cassette 1304 moredifficult or impossible. Accordingly, the sensor 1308 monitors the bendradius change of the tube and the movable roller 1310 applies targetedforce to the tube to correct deviations in the bend radius to maintain adesired bend rate and/or maintain a consistent diameter. The process ofmonitoring the bend radius of the tube and adjusting the bend radius iscontinued until such time as the tube is fatigued and/or unusable.

In some embodiments, the cassette 1304 is approximately 1 to 5 meters indiameter and approximately ⅕ to 1 meter in width, although otherdimensions of cassette 1304 can be employed. The cassette 1304 can befully or partly enclosed, such as using a shell, casing, or permitterwall. The reel 1306 rotates within or relative to the cassette 1304.However, in certain embodiments, the cassette 1304 is omitted in favorof an exposed reel 1306. The cassette 1304 is optionally removableand/or exchangeable with another cassette 1304, such as to enablereplacement or exchange of a fatigued or consumed CPT tube or conepenetration head.

In certain embodiments, the at least one cassette 1304 includes at leastone motor to facilitate retraction and/or extension of the at least onetube relative to the at least one rotatable reel 1306. The drive 1312can operate to coil and uncoil the tube in the cassette 1304 by pullingor pushing the tube. The reel 1306 can spin or rotate substantiallyfreely and/or through the thrusting and/or retraction caused by thedrive 1312. Alternatively, a separate motor or rotational drive systemcan assist or supplement the coiling or uncoiling of the tube byforcibly rotating the reel 1306 in a clockwise and/or counterclockwisedirection.

In other embodiments, the umbilical cord 1316 is optional and/orreplaced or complimented with a wireless communication interface,computer readable storage media with a computer program executable onone or more processors, a battery, a motor, an engine, or otheralternative component.

In one particular embodiment, the rig 1300 includes at least onecontinuous track propulsion system 1314. The continuous track propulsionsystem 1314 is composed of one or more wheels and a track, which one ormore wheels are driven by an electric, gasoline, diesel, or other motoror engine. The propulsion system 1314 can optionally include one or moretires, wheels, legs, robotic limbs, ballasts, jets, or other system thatpropels or otherwise moves the rig 1300. The propulsion system 1314 canbe omitted with the rig 1300 resting directly or indirectly on asurface.

FIG. 14 is a top view of a cone penetration rig, in accordance with anembodiment. In one embodiment, a rig 1300 for cone penetration testingincludes, but is not limited to, a frame 1302; at least one cassette1304 including at least one rotatable reel; at least one sensor 1308; atleast one movable roller 1406; at least one drive system 1312; and atleast one tube 1402 having at least one cone penetration testing head,the at least one tube 1402 configured to be coiled about the at leastone rotatable reel and extendably thrusted using the at least one drivesystem 1312, wherein the at least one movable roller 1406 is configuredto adjust a bend radius of the at least one tube 1402 based at leastpartly on data received from the at least one sensor 1308. In a furtherembodiment, a cone penetration testing system 1300 includes, but is notlimited to, a frame 1302; at least one rotatable reel 1304; at least onemovable roller 1406; and at least one sensor 1308, wherein the at leastone movable roller 1406 is configured to adjust a bend radius of atleast one tube 1402 coiled about the at least one rotatable reel 1304based at least partly on data received from the at least one sensor1308.

In one particular embodiment, the tube is a steel tube of approximately1 inch to 6 inches in diameter, such as 2 inches. The tube 1402 isthrust substantially downward via the drive channel 1404 by the drivesystem 1312. As the tube 1402 is thrust by the drive system 1312, thetube 1402 is uncoiled from the cassette and/or rotatable reel 1304. Thetube 1402 includes one or more sensors; for example, the tube 1402 caninclude one or more cone penetrometers and/or one or more seismometersin association with one or more power, data, or analog output wires. Thetube 1402 is pushed into the subsurface to one or more depths consistentwith a particular mission and uncoiled from the cassette and/orrotatable reel 1304 to accommodate the cone penetration operations. Uponcompletion, the drive system 1312 reverses and/or retracts the tube1402, which is recoiled into the cassette 1304 and/or rotatable reel1304. The tube 1402 passes along the at least one movable roller 1406between the drive system 1312 and the cassette and/or rotatable reel1304. The at least one movable roller 1406 is configured to move, shift,press, release, retract, rotate, advance, spin, or otherwise changeposition relative to the tube 1402 in order to effectuate a desiredcurvature on the tube 1402. The sensor 1308 includes a camera, videorecorder, and/or other imager that is operable to capture, communicate,record, measure, or otherwise provide one or more images of the tube1402 as the tube 1402 enters the cassette and/or rotatable reel 1304.Imagery from the sensor 1308 is output, processed, and/or otherwiseanalyzed to determine a need for and/or a degree of curvature correctionrequired to spool the tube 1402 within the cassette and/or rotatablereel 1304. A processor controls one or more transistors and/or ahydraulic system or electric motor to adjust the movable roller 1406based on any curvature requirements detected or determined usinginformation from the sensor 1308. The curvature adjustment provides arequisite bend radius in the tube 1402 to return the tube 1402 back intothe cassette 1304, thereby overcoming or correcting deformation and/orfatigue in the tube resulting from uncoiling, coiling, and/or thrustinginto the subsurface.

In other embodiments, the drive system 1312 is hydraulic, engine-driven,and/or electric-based. The drive system 1312 can include a track,roller, or other friction-based system to force, thrust, or otherwisedeploy the tube 1402 downward to and/or into a subsurface. The drivesystem 1312 may include a rotational motor, engine, or hydraulic systemfor forcibly turning the rotatable reel 1304 to support or facilitateextension of the tube 1402. Power for the drive system 1312 may beprovided remotely via the umbilical cord 1316 or using an onboard fuelsystem or battery.

In some embodiments, the drive channel 1404 is offset and/or adjacent tothe cassette and/or rotatable reel 1304 as depicted. The tube 1402 exitsthe cassette and/or rotatable reel 1304 on one side and passes throughthe drive channel 1404 to the surface and/or subsurface. The drivechannel 1404 in this embodiment can be offset to a left or right side ofthe cassette and/or rotatable reel 1304. In another embodiment, thedrive channel 1404 is positioned inline with the cassette and/orrotatable reel 1304 such that the tube 1402 is configured to passthrough the drive channel 1404 without being substantially offset. Thecassette and/or rotatable reel 1304 may include a partial or completelyopen perimeter wall or side wall to facilitate ingress and/or egress ofthe tube 1402 from the cassette and/or rotatable reel 1304.

In certain embodiments, the sensor 1308 is differently positioned and/ororiented. For instance, the sensor 1308 can be oriented with a field ofview toward the passageway for the tube 1402 in the cassette and/orrotatable reel 1304. Alternatively, the sensor 1308 can be oriented witha field of view toward the movable roller 1406 and/or the drive channel1404. Additionally, the sensor 1308 can be oriented with a field of viewtoward the inside of the cassette and/or rotatable reel 1304. The sensor1308 can be positioned at or proximate to any of the drive channel 1404,the cassette 1304, the movable roller 1406, and/or the tube 1402. Incertain embodiments, the sensor 1308 is movable and/or rotatable aboutone, two, three, or more axis. In other embodiments, a plurality ofsensors 1308 are arranged proximate to and/or with fields of view of anyof the drive channel 1404, the movable roller 1406, the cassette and/orrotatable reel 1304, the drive system 1312, and/or the tube 1402.

FIG. 15 is a perspective partially exposed view of a cassette reelsystem for a cone penetration rig, in accordance with an embodiment. Inone embodiment, a cassette system for cone penetration testing includes,but is not limited to, at least one rotatable reel 1306; at least onesensor 1308; and at least one movable roller 1406; wherein the at leastone movable roller 1406 is configured to adjust a bend radius of atleast one tube 1402 coiled about the at least one rotatable reel 1306based at least partly on data received from the at least one sensor1308. The tube 1402 includes a cone penetration sleeve 1506 with a conehead 1502. In one particular embodiment, the cone head 1502 and/or thecone penetration sleeve 1506 is replaceable on the tube 1402.

In one embodiment, the cassette 1500 is removably installable on the rig(FIGS. 13, 14, & 16). The cassette 1500 includes a docking base 1504that releasably locks with one or more mating structures and/orassociated fasteners of the frame of the rig. The cassette 1500 can beinstalled to the rig to enable CPT testing and/or investigation usingthe tube 1402 and its associated cone penetration sleeve 1506 and conehead 1502. The tube 1402 is extendable from the rotatable reel 1306 andretractable into the rotatable reel 1306 for a plurality of cycles.After a specified number of cycles or upon a detected fracture,irregularity, or other deformity, the cassette 1500 can be removed fromthe rig and replaced with another cassette 1500. The replacementcassette 1500 can include a replacement tube 1402 that enables continuedoperation of the rig for testing and/or investigation. In one particularembodiment, the rig or frame includes a funnel mount with a conical headto guidably receive the docking base 1504. Locking bearings or a pin areengaged and/or removed using one or more techniques such as guidewireintervention, electromagnetic release, and/or computer control. In oneparticular embodiment, the docking base 1504, the rig, or the frameincludes a magnet or electromagnet to facilitate alignment and couplingof the cassette 1500.

In a further embodiment, the rotatable reel 1306 is removably mountedwith the cassette 1500. Thus, the rotatable reel 1306 can be mounted onthe cassette to enable repeated cycles of extension and/or retraction ofthe tube 1402. Upon reaching a specified number of cycles or upon adetected fracture, irregularity, or other deformity, the rotatable reel1306 can be removed from the cassette 1500 and another rotatable reel1306 with a replacement tube 1402 can be loaded onto the cassette 1500.The replacement rotatable reel 1306 with the replacement tube 1402enables continued operation of the cassette 1500 for testing and/orinvestigation. In certain embodiments, the cassette 1500 includes afunnel mount with a conical head that is configured to guidably receivethe rotatable reel 1306 into position. Locking bearings or a pin areengaged and removed using one or more techniques such as guidewireintervention, electromagnetic release, and/or computer control. In oneparticular embodiment, the rotatable reel 1306 or the cassette 1500includes a magnet or electromagnet to facilitate alignment and/orcoupling to the cassette 1500.

In a further embodiment, the at least one cassette 1500 includes a guidechannel 1508 to facilitate retraction and/or extension of the at leastone tube 1402 relative to the at least one rotatable reel 1306. Theguide channel 1508 can consist of an opening, surface, edge, curvature,angled wall, or other structure that supports and/or directs the tube1402 to or from the rotatable reel 1306. In one particular embodimentthe guide channel 1508 includes one or more rollers or bearingsconfigured to reduce friction of the tube 1402 against any surface ofthe guide channel 1508. In another embodiment, the guide channel 1508can consist or incorporate any of rubber, plastic, metal, or othermaterial that reduces friction of the tube 1402 against any surface ofthe guide channel 1508. In certain embodiments, the guide channel 1508includes a movable guide that facilitates placement of the tube 1402 ona spool line within the rotatable reel 1306. In some embodiments, therotatable reel 1306 is positioned inline with the guide channel 1508 soas to occupy substantially the same plane or can be positioned offsetfrom the guide channel 1508 as depicted.

In one embodiment, the sensor 1308 is configured to sample, measure,obtain, determine, or detect information on movement, position, shape,and/or pressure associated with the tube 1402, such as with sensors 1512positioned in a perimeter or circumference wall of the cassette 1500.One or more computer processors use information obtained from the sensor1308 to determine a deviation from a desired bend radius in the tube1402. The one or more computer processors is further configured toautomatically determine a position of the at least one movable roller1406 to correct the deviation from the desired bend radius in the tube1402 and return the tube 1402 to the desired bend radius. For instance,as the tube 1402 is recoiled, the bend radius may increase due tofatigue in the metal of the tube 1402. The sensor 1308 is used by theprocessor to calculate a movement of the roller 1406 that will tightenthe bend radius of the tube 1402 as the tube 1402 is retracted into therotatable reel 1306. The processor can implement the movement bycontrolling circuitry and/or a motor associated with the roller 1406.Feedback information is obtained by the processor using the sensor 1308to determine any position changes of the roller 1406 that are requiredto maintain the desired bend radius of the tube 1402. The processor cancontinuously receive information from the sensor 1308 and makeadjustments to positioning of the roller 1406 to maintain the bendradius within a certain tolerance. In an event that the desired bendradius cannot be maintained within a desired tolerance level, theprocessor can control a drive system to discontinue coiling or extendthe tube 1402.

In certain embodiments, the sensor 1308 consists of a camera thatcaptures one or more of still images, infrared images, videos, or otherradiofrequency information. The sensor 1308 can alternatively include aproximity sensor that is usable to detect whether the tube 1402 iswithin or outside a particular distance range or position range.Optionally, the sensor 1308 can include a contact sensor that is usableto detect physical touching of the tube 1402 with a surface. The sensor1308 can include any one or more of the foregoing or other type ofsensor, including a combination of sensor types that operate together toobtain information usable by one or more processors to determine orrecognize fatigue, bend radius, and/or deformation informationassociated with the tube 1402.

In one embodiment, the movable roller 1406 further includes an idlerroller 1508. The movable roller 1406 pivots, shifts, rotates, orotherwise moves relative to the tube 1402 and the idler roller 1508. Theidler roller 1508 is configured to provide a backstop to the movableroller 1406 while enabling rollable passing of the tube 1402. Together,the movable roller 1406 and the idler roller 1508 operate incoordination to produce a desired bend radius, conformance, and/orcurvature of the tube 1402. For instance, the movable roller 1406 canpress the tube 1402 at a point above the idler roller 1508 while thetube 1402 rolls through the movable roller 1406 and the idler roller1508 enroute to the rotatable reel 1306, thereby shortening the bendradius of the tube 1402. Alternatively, the movable roller 1406 canpress the tube 1402 at a point below the idler roller 1508 while thetube 1402 rolls through the movable roller 1406 and the idler roller1508 enroute to the rotatable reel 1306, thereby increasing the bendradius of the tube 1402. The movable roller 1406 can shift up, down, in,out, around, and/or side to side to in various degrees relative to theidler roller 1508, with or without pivoting, to produce the desired bendradius, curvature, or conformance in the tube 1402.

In one particular embodiment, the cassette 1500 further includes atleast one additional movable roller 1510 that operates in conjunctionwith the movable roller 1406. The movable roller 1406 and movable roller1510 operate in coordination to effect a desired bend radius,conformance, or curvature in the tube 1402 similar to use of the idlerroller 1508. However, with the additional movable roller 1510, anadditional degree of precision with conformance can be achieved. Forinstance, beyond effecting a bend radius or curvature change, themovable roller 1406 and movable roller 1510 can also more effectivelyaddress deformations and/or other defects by the following independentmovements: up, down, side to side, in, out, swivel, rotate, pivot,and/or other maneuver relative to one another. In certain embodiments,an idler roller 1508 is present in conjunction with the movable roller1510 and the movable roller 1406. For instance, one movable roller 1406can operate below the idler roller 1508 and the other movable roller1510 can operate above the idler roller 1508. By independently movingeither the movable roller 1510 or the movable roller 1406 against, away,or around the tube 1402 as the tube 1402 traverses the same, desiredconformances, bend radiuses, curvatures, conformances, and/oradjustments can be effected.

While the movable roller 1406 and/or the movable roller 1510 have beendiscussed in reference to adjusting or correcting curvature or bendradius upon retraction, the movable roller 1406 and/or the movableroller 1510 may also operate to effect straightening of the tube 1402upon extraction to enable downward thrusting of the tube 1402. Thesensor 1308 or another sensor is configured to obtain informationregarding the linearity of the tube 1402 as it exits the guide channel1508 and/or the cassette 1500. Any non-linearity of the tube 1402 can becorrected via movement of either the movable roller 1406 and/or themovable roller 1510, with or without the idler roller 1508. The degree,position, orientation, and rotation of either the movable roller 1406and/or the movable roller 1510 can be adjusted to effect the desiredshape of the tube 1402 as it progresses toward the surface and/or intothe subsurface. Thus, conformance, alignment, shape bending, radius,curvature, linearity, or other features can be corrected, induced, ormaintained during either retraction and/or extraction using the movableroller 1406 and/or the movable roller 1510, with or without an idlerroller 1508.

In certain embodiments, the movable roller 1406 and/or the movableroller 1510 operate with a hydraulic system, electric motor, or enginethat pushes or releases based on one more user inputs or in response toprocessor control. The hydraulic system, electric motor, or engine iscontrolled by a processor and associated circuitry via user commands,program instructions, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and/orsensor input. In one particular embodiment, a radius control system isprovided that operates the hydraulic system, electric motor, or engineto maintain the bend radius of the tube 1402 to substantially match thecurvature of the rotatable reel 1306 at the current spool level. Thetube 1402 coils upon itself beginning from an inner level of the reel1306 and progressing to an outer level of the reel 1306. Eachprogressive level of the tube 1402 on the reel has a larger bend radius.Thus, the radius control system can dynamically adjust the bend radiusof the tube 1402 as it retracts to substantially match the current spoollevel within the reel 1306. Beginning at a smaller bend radius, theradius control system can increase the bend radius of the tube 1402based on the level within the rotatable reel 1306.

In certain embodiments, the radius control system determines a currentlevel of the tube 1402 within the reel 1306, detects a bend radius ofthe tube 1402, determines a desired curvature for a current portion ofthe tube 1402, and/or obtains feedback regarding the fit or shape of thetube 1402 within the reel 1306, at least partly using informationobtained from the sensor. The radius control system is configured tocontrol at least one hydraulic system, electric motor, or engine tochange a position of the at least one movable roller 1406 relative tothe at least one tube 1402 based at least partly on a current level ofthe tube 1402 within the reel 1306, a bend radius of the tube 1402, adesired curvature for a current portion of the tube 1402, and/orfeedback regarding the fit or shape of the tube 1402 within the reel1306. Optionally, user input may be provided to override, set, adjust,improve, and/or otherwise influence a position of the at least onemovable roller 1406 relative to the at least one tube 1402. For example,the radius control system can detect that the tube 1402 is currentlyspooling on level 2, requiring, for example, a 1 meter bend radius. Theradius control system can determine that the current portion of the tube1402 has a 1.1 meter bend radius as the tube 1402 exits the movableroller 1406 and the idler roller 1508. The radius control system canthen controllably adjust a position of the movable roller 1406 to applyincreased pressure against the tube 1402, for example by moving towardthe tube 1402 an additional 3 cm. As the tube 1402 progresses further,the radius control system can evaluate the bend radius of the tube 1402and, upon determining that a correction is required, make an incrementaladjustment to the position of the movable roller 1406, such as bybacking off the tube pressure by 0.5 cm. Machine learning can be appliedto improve operation of the radius control system. The bend radius andposition change amounts will be dictated by the particular dimensions ofthe cassette 1500 and associated components and will change based atleast upon cycle number of the tube 1402 and/or the type of materialused for the tube 1402, but they provide an example of the dynamic andcontinuous operation of the radius control system.

In certain embodiments, a hydraulic leak detector is provided to measurethe level of hydraulic fluid in the system. Should the level drop belowa specified threshold or become empty, an output signal or alert can beprovided and/or an automated action can be performed.

In other embodiments, the positions of the movable roller 1406, themovable roller 1510, or the idler roller 1508 are changeable. There maybe additional or fewer idler rollers or movable rollers. Also, feed orexit rollers, channels, tubes, guides, or tracks may be implemented tofurther support a desired shape of the tube 1402.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a cone penetration rig, in accordancewith an embodiment. In one embodiment, a rig 1600 for cone penetrationtesting includes, but is not limited to, a cassette 1500 supported by astructure and/or deck with one or more support legs 1602. An umbilicalcord 1316 links the rig 1600 with a control unit 1604. The rig 1600 isconfigured to provide terrestrial, subterrestrial, or cosmic soilinvestigation and/or analysis, such as on land or on a seafloor surface.

In certain embodiments, the one or more support legs 1602 include aplurality of legs 1602 that are independently height adjustable toaccommodate surface irregularities or sloping terrain. Thus, the supportlegs 1602 can be extended or retracted as required to maintain orsituate the rig 1600 in an orientation such that the cone penetrationtube is deployed in a substantially perpendicular manner into the Earthor other cosmic body. Any of the support legs 1602 can include pivot orswivel bases, articulating joints, and/or anchor points. The supportlegs 1602 can be manually adjusted and/or be driven by one or morehydraulic systems, electric motors, and/or engines, any of which can beuser-controlled or controlled using a processor and/or circuitry. In oneparticular embodiment, a level sensor is situated on the rig 1600 and aprocessor samples information from the level sensor to determine controlinstructions for a hydraulic system that actuates the support legs 1602in order to automatically level the rig 1600.

In a further embodiment, the control unit 1604 provides one or more ofpower, communication, data, and/or control instructions to or from therig 1600 via the umbilical cord 1316. While the control unit 1604 isillustrated in proximity to the rig 1600, the umbilical cord 1316 maystretch for many feet or miles to a control unit 1604 that is moreremote from the rig 1600. In the case of power, the umbilical cord 1316can be omitted with a battery or fuel supply situated on or with the rig1600. Optionally, any communication, control, or data functions ofumbilical cord 1316 be implemented using wireless communication,including cellular, radio, WIFI, satellite, BLE, BLUETOOTH, and/orbeacon technology. On one particular embodiment, the control unit 1604includes a plurality of umbilical cords that each are associated with adifferent rig, thereby enabling a centralized hub and spoke system to aplurality of rigs that are independently conducting soil investigationand/or testing at different sites. In another embodiment, the controlunit 1604 is incorporated on or within a vehicle, vessel, dwelling, orother structure.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a vessel system with a cone penetrationrig, in accordance with an embodiment. In one embodiment, the vesselsystem 1700 includes, but is not limited to, a vessel 1702 and a rig1300. The vessel 1702 includes a crane 1710 that is operable to lower,raise, or otherwise maneuver the rig 1300. An ROV 1706 is operable toguide the rig 1300 using one or more guide wires 1704. An umbilical cord1316 links the rig 1300 with the vessel 1702. One or more exchangeableand/or replacement cassettes 1708 are stowable on or with the vessel1702 and deployable to the rig 1300 using the crane 1710 and/or ROV1706. Accordingly, the vessel system 1700 enables remote testing and/orsoil investigation in sea, ocean, lake, or other water coveredlocations.

In one embodiment, the vessel 1702 is a barge, ship, boat, platform,floating rig, and/or other similar surface or subsurface situatedvessel. The vessel 1702 includes at least one crane 1710, which is amechanically, electrically, electromechanically, and/or engine or motordriven device for lifting, moving, lowering, or otherwise maneuveringone or more objects, including the one or more cassettes 1708, the rig1300, and/or an ROV 1706.

In one embodiment, the vessel 1702 transports the one or more cassettes1708, the rig 1300, and/or the ROV 1706 to a desired location in anocean, sea, lake, or other body of water, whereby the crane 1710 deploysthe rig 1300 and/or the ROV 1706 into the water. One of the cassettes1708 can be deployed with the rig 1300 or separately from the rig 1300.The ROV 1706 assists in the movement and/or positioning of the rig 1300from the vessel 1702 to a seafloor, such as by using a guidewire 1704and heave compensation systems. The one or more cassettes 1708 can betransitioned from the vessel 1702 to the rig 1300 or from the rig 1300to the vessel 1702 using the ROV 1706, the guide wire 1704, and/or andthe crane 1710. The one or more cassettes 1708 each include a spooledCPT tubing, sleeve, and cone penetration head. Therefore, the rig 1300can one cassette 1708 on the seafloor for purposes of soil investigationand/or analysis and the one cassette 1708 can be interchanged with oneor more additional cassettes 1708 from the vessel 1702 to extend thelifespan of the rig 1300 on the seafloor, for example. While on thevessel 1702, the cassettes 1708 are stackable on a deck, stowagecompartment, or other unit, either before or after deployment on the rig1300. Any of the foregoing operations can be under complete or partialautonomous control using a computer system, circuitry, and/or associatedprogramming. Alternatively, some or all of the operations can bemanually effectuated or assisted.

The vessel 1702 is illustrated as a water-based vessel for examplepurposes only, but the vessel 1702 can be any device or system usable todeliver the rig 1300 and/or one or more cassettes 1708 to a desiredterrestrial and/or subterrestrial location. In other embodiments, therig 1300 can position itself in any terrestrial and/or subterrestrialenvironment independent of the vessel 1702. In the embodiment where thevessel 1702 comprises a ship, the vessel 1702 can include a 120 ft workvessel with approximately 20 anchors and the crane 1720, operating toapproximately 2-3 k meters depth.

In a further embodiment, the rig 1300 comprises a cone penetrationtesting (CPT) rig that remotely operates on or below a terrestrial orsubterrestrial surface, such as a seafloor and/or subseafloor. The rig1300 can include propulsion systems to facilitate independent movementor positioning. Alternatively, the rig 1300 can be moved or positionedentirely or partly by another system or device, such as the ROV 1706.

In certain embodiments, the rig 1300 is at least partly enabled usingthe one or more cassettes 1708 that are interchangeably coupled to therig 1300, which can be independently deployed to the rig 1300 and/orretrieved from the rig 1300 as needed or required. Thus, the rig 1300can launch independently of any of the cassettes 1708 or with onecassette 1708 initially present. The rig 1300 deploys the tubing,sleeve, and/or cone penetration head from one of the cassettes 1708 toprovide sampling and/or investigation at a series of soil depths. Thecassette 1708 can be removed from the rig 1300 and an additionalcassette 1708 can be installed on the rig 1300. The extensibility of therig 1300 is therefore provided.

In one embodiment, the ROV 1706 transports the cassettes 1708 from thevessel 1702 to the rig 1300. The ROV 1706 attaches to a lift point onthe cassette 1708 using assistance from the crane 1710 and guides thecassette 1708 to the rig 1300. The ROV 1706 can be any robot orremote/automated controllable device, such as a LARS. However, it iscontemplated that the one or more cassettes 1708 can be self-guidedunder independent propulsion to and/or from the rig 1300 withoutrequiring use of the ROV 1706. Alternatively, the crane 1710 or guidewire 1704 can optionally be used to transport the one or more cassettes1708 to and/or from the rig 1300. In certain embodiments, the ROV 1706is a terrestrial vehicle or system that delivers and retrieves the oneor more cassettes 1708 between a staging location and the rig 1300. Thestaging location can include a vehicle, platform, container,climate-controlled unit, refrigeration unit, or the like. For instance,the rig 1300 can be deployed to a mine or tunnel location and the ROV1706 can run exchanges of the cassettes 1708 from a staging location ator proximate to a mine entrance.

In certain embodiments, the one or more cassettes 1708 are staged orstored on a deck or surface area of the vessel 1702. Optionally, onearea of the deck or surface area of the vessel 1702 is used for one ormore cassettes 1708 ready for deployment to the rig 1300 and a differentarea of the deck or surface area of the vessel 102 is used for one ormore cassettes 1708 that have been returned from the rig 1300. Thecassettes 1708 are configured to be stackable with one another toconserve staging and/or storage space. For instance, the cassettes 1708can include a flat bottom surface area that rests upon another of thecassettes 1708. Alternatively, a male/female mechanical coupling can beprovided between adjacent cassettes 1708 to limit or prevent movement orshifting. Additionally, the center portions of the cassettes 1708 canoperate in conjunction with one another to define a space for containinga stacked cassette 1708, such as in a pyramid type arrangement. Thecassettes 1708 can be stacked without substantial limitation and may beconfined using one or more frames to prevent or limit movement orshifting.

The vessel system 1700 is exemplary and can be configured in a varietyof ways. The crane 1710 can be omitted or substituted with anotherlifting or hoist mechanism. The crane 1700 can be movable and/ordifferently located on the vessel 102. Likewise, it is contemplated thata plurality of cranes 1710 can be utilized for backup redundancy or toincrease efficiency. Multiple rigs 1300 and/or ROVs 1706 can also beutilized to enable backup redundancy or to increase efficiency, such asby enabling simultaneous sampling and investigation operations at one ormore different sites. Optionally, the cassettes 1708 may benon-interchangeable and the rig 1300 may include a dedicated cassette1708.

The present invention may have additional embodiments, may be practicedwithout one or more of the details described for any particulardescribed embodiment, or may have any detail described for oneparticular embodiment practiced with any other detail described foranother embodiment.

While preferred and alternate embodiments of the invention have beenillustrated and described, as noted above, many changes can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited by the disclosureof these preferred and alternate embodiments. Instead, the inventionshould be determined entirely by reference to the claims that follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A drill rig comprising: a frame configured tovertically deploy a drill string; a drive system configured to forciblyrotate the drill string; at least one docking base disposed on the frameand including a projection; at least one carousel with one or more slotsto stow one or more components, the at least one carousel including arecessed base configured to guide the projection into position toreleasably engage at least one latching mechanism, the at least onecarousel including a lift point projecting above the at least onecarousel that when pulled disengages the at least one latching mechanismto enable lifting of the at least one carousel from the at least onedocking base; and at least one shuttle that is configured to travelabove the at least one carousel to at least controllably move at leastone of the one or more components between the one or more slots of theat least one carousel and the drill string.
 2. The drill rig of claim 1,further comprising: at least one continuous track propulsion system. 3.The drill rig of claim 1, further comprising: an umbilical cord.
 4. Thedrill rig of claim 1, wherein the frame is configured to verticallydeploy the drill string composed of one or more segment casings and adrill head.
 5. The drill rig of claim 1, wherein the projectioncomprises a conical projection.
 6. The drill rig of claim 1, wherein theprojection is configured to self-align with the at least one carousel.7. The drill rig of claim 1, wherein the recessed base is configured tofunnel the projection of the at least one docking base.
 8. The drill rigof claim 1, wherein the recessed base is configured to self-align withthe at least one docking base.
 9. The drill rig of claim 1, wherein theone or more slots comprises one or more of a cavity, tube, box,depression, boundary, container, or space.
 10. The drill rig of claim 1,wherein the at least one latching mechanism comprises an electromagneticmechanism or mechanical mechanism configured to provide a releasableconnection.
 11. The drill rig of claim 1, wherein the at least oneshuttle is configured to travel to one or more points above the at leastone carousel to controllably pickup the one or more components.
 12. Thedrill rig of claim 1, wherein the at least one shuttle is configured totravel to one or more points inline with a long axis of the drill stringto attach one or more drill casings on the drill string.
 13. The drillrig of claim 1, wherein the at least one shuttle is configured to travelto one or more points inline with a long axis of the drill string toextend one or more sample vessels via the drill string.
 14. The drillrig of claim 1, wherein the at least one shuttle is configured to travelto one or more points inline with a long axis of the drill string toextend one or more tools via the drill string.
 15. The drill rig ofclaim 1, wherein the shuttle is mounted on the frame.
 16. The drill rigof claim 1, wherein the drill rig is an underwater seafloor drill rigand wherein the drill rig further comprises an umbilical cord configuredto physically tether the drill rig to a surface vessel and provideelectrical power from the surface vessel to the drill rig.
 17. The drillrig of claim 1, wherein the frame further comprises a mast configured tosupport the drill string, wherein the drill string is extendable throughthe frame into a surface below the drill rig.
 18. The drill rig of claim1, wherein the lift point is positioned on a bale projecting from acenter of the at least one carousel.
 19. A drill rig comprising: a frameconfigured to vertically deploy a drill string; at least one dockingbase disposed on the frame and including a projection; at least onecarousel with one or more slots to stow one or more components, the atleast one carousel including a recessed base shaped to guide the atleast one carousel onto the projection to releasably engage at least onelatching mechanism, the at least one carousel including a lift member onthe at least one carousel that when pulled disengages the at least onelatching mechanism to enable lifting of the at least one carousel fromthe at least one docking base; and at least one shuttle that isconfigured to travel above the at least one carousel to at leastcontrollably move at least one of the one or more components between theone or more slots of the at least one carousel and the drill string. 20.An underwater seafloor drill rig comprising: a frame configured tovertically deploy a drill string; an umbilical cord coupled to theframe; a docking base disposed on the frame and including a projection;a carousel having a base with a recess and one or more slots to stow oneor more casings for use with the drill string, the carousel beingreleasably and automatically locked when the recess is lowered onto theprojection via at least one latching mechanism, the at least onecarousel being rotatable about the at least one docking base via thelatching mechanism; a lift member projecting from a top of the carouselthat when pulled disengages the at least one latching mechanism torelease the carousel from the docking base; and at least one shuttlethat is configured to move linearly above the carousel and one or morepoints inline with a long axis of the drill string to controllably liftat least one of the one or more casings from the one or more slots ofthe carousel and couple the at least one of the one or more casings ontoan end of the drill string.
 21. A drill rig comprising: a frameconfigured to vertically deploy a drill string; a drive systemconfigured to forcibly rotate the drill string; at least one dockingbase disposed on the frame and including a recess; at least one carouselwith one or more slots to stow one or more components, the at least onecarousel including a base with a projection configured to guide the atleast one carousel into the recess to releasably engage at least onelatching mechanism, the at least one carousel including a lift pointprojecting above the at least one carousel that when pulled disengagesthe at least one latching mechanism to enable lifting of the at leastone carousel from the at least one docking base; and at least oneshuttle that is configured to travel above the at least one carousel toat least controllably move at least one of the one or more componentsbetween the one or more slots of the at least one carousel and the drillstring.